Talking about human beings, if you manage to live for 90 years or a bit more, you are considered to have a remarkable age. But, when it comes to animals, 90 years old age still seems to be a baby’s age. A few of the animals have been living for so long now that now they are called living fossils. Dinosaurs appear to be their direct relatives.
Animals unlike human beings are lucky enough to even live for centuries. However, there are only a few animals that get such a long age. These animals are special and are different in terms of their build-up. God has made them uniquely.
Nonetheless, the animals that we observe on a daily basis such as dogs, cats, or birds do not last for too long. So, let’s discuss those special 12 oldest living creatures that wander all over the earth and never leave a chance to awestruck us. A few of these animals came to the world even before the Age of Discovery started.
Here we go!
Tuatara, over 110 years old
Tuatara is a reptile that is basically found in New Zealand. Their appearance is similar to lizards. However, they connect their lineage to dinosaurs who lived on the earth more than 200 million years ago. They are small-looking creatures with a very deep history.
Now, these creatures have become really endangered. But, some of them are fortunate enough to get an extremely long life, even more than 110 years sometimes! If you are willing to have a look at this animal, you can plan a visit to the Southland Museum in New Zealand. Here, you would find a Tuatara named Henry who became a father for the first time after hitting 110 years of age.
Orange Roughy, 149 years old
The Orange Roughy is extremely slow in terms of growth. But, it is renowned for living quite a long age. However, the activities of human beings have made this creature extremely endangered. The increased interest in fishing has made this animal go distinct. Nonetheless, if they manage to live, they can reach the age as high as 149 years old. It is said that that the Orange Roughy matures at the age of 20.
Plus, these fish accumulate a high amount of concentrated mercury which is the reason behind their long age. Thus, they become really dangerous if you catch and consume it.
Geoduck, 168 years old
Geoduck is known to be extremely revolting shellfish that can live for more than 150 years. It is basically a large clam that is found on the West Coast of North America. It is an odd-looking creature that possesses a hard shell and a soft body. Though it cannot hide in its shell. Geoducks are famous for their excessive reproduction.
Their females produce over 5 billion eggs in their entire lifespan. They are not only famous for their excess reproduction. Rather, they are famous for living a huge life. The longest-living Geoduck was recorded to have an age of 168 years.
Red Sea Urchin, around 200 years old
Red Sea Urchin is an oldest-living species that is found in the Pacific Ocean and not anywhere else. Rocky shores are inhabited by Red Sea Urchin. However, they stay away from excessive wavy areas in a quest to remain safe. Red Sea Urchin’s body is entirely covered with sharp and pointed spines. These spines help it to evade dangers and to protect itself from anybody, having the intention to harm it. These creatures are slow in terms of growth. Therefore, they can live up to 200 years of age which is phenomenal to even hear!
In case, you have ever devoured Uni Sushi, then let me break it up to you that it would have been a reproductive organ of the Red Sea Urchin.
Bowhead Whale, 211 years old
Bowhead Whale is not as popular as the Blue Whale. However, there are a few standalone features of it that make it remarkable specie in the entire world. An interesting thing to note here is that the Bowhead Whale has the largest mouth amongst all the animals present on the face of the earth. Plus, it can go and live for more than 200 years. Reaching such a long age makes it the longest-living mammal of the sea. Researchers have said that the oldest living Bowhead Whale was aged around 211 years. The Bowhead Whale is also known as Arctic Whale.
Bowhead Whale eats up to 2 tonnes of food each day. Also, their heads are so powerful that they can break ice up to 60 cm.
Koi fish, 226 years old
In general, Koi Fish does not last too long. It normally lives for about 50 years. Nonetheless, one kind of Koi Fish was recorded to have broken all the rules as it went up to live for around 226 years. That scarlet Koi Fish is named Hanako. As it lived for 226 years, the researchers were left baffled as to how such a fish could live for so many years. It still is a mystery left to unravel.
Nevertheless, people believed that the fish was fortunate to receive a beautiful atmosphere, good food, and clean water of the Japanese Mountains which helped her live so long. If the life of animals is long then it usually depends on the atmosphere in which they are breathing.
Lamellibrachia tube worms, up to 250 years old
The bizarre tubeworm hides the secret of their extreme longevity. It basically lives in the depths of around 500-800 meters, following deepsea “cold seeps”. On this very place, oil and methane are found to be leaking on the seafloor. They consume nothing but only sulfide-oxidizing bacteria which is their entire food. Yes, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria helps them in living such a long age of up to 250 years which is insane, to be honest. They start forming large grouping of the individuals. Within these large groupings, hundreds of different species are found. Also, they are only found in a specific environment.
Aldabra giant tortoise, 255 years old
Giant tortoises are extremely famous for the ages that they get from God. They tend to live more than 100 years and that too quite conveniently. However, Aldabra giant tortoise was an exceptional tortoise that lived for 255 years. The Aldabra giant tortoise is that individual tortoise of the Indian Ocean that is still alive. While other species have now gone extinct. The tortoise possesses a huge shell that protects the vulnerable body of the tortoise from possible dangers. The researchers say that it is the oldest surface-dwelling animal that has ever lived.
Freshwater pearl mussels, 280 years old
Freshwater pearl mussels are extremely long-lasting animals. However, their growth is quite slow, being the sole reason behind their long age. Their lifespan varies between 86 to 102 years. Plus, their lifespan is also dependent upon the quality of water in which they live. In history, the longest-living Freshwater pearl mussel was recorded to be of the age of 280 years.
Freshwater pearl mussels have become quite rare in Scotland due to prohibited fishing, low-quality water, and the damage that has been directed at their habitat.
Greenland shark, 400 years old
Greenland Sharks are extremely interesting to study. They look quite dangerous and seems to intimidate human beings to the fullest. But, there is little to no interaction between Greenland Shark and human beings. Plus, another factor that makes them interesting is their long age. They reach sexual maturity at the age of 150 and could live up to 400 years.
Apart from a long age, they are also very big in size. They basically like to stay in colder waters. However, they can be found anywhere in the sea.
Ocean quahog, 507 years old
Ocean quahog is a specie of edible clam. It is a marine bivalve mollusk that belongs to the family Arcticidae. It lives a very long life and keeps on adding one layer to its body each year. They are very famous for their long age. In fact, one of the Ocean quahog, namely Ming lived survived till 507 years. This is the longest reported age among the non-colonial creatures.
Antarctic sponge, 1550 years old
The antarctic sponge is known to live a great life. The researchers believe that it can live for more than 1000 years due to the low temperatures of the Antarctic Ocean. Plus, the Antarctic sponge also grows quite slowly which is also a reason for their immense life. A few researchers say that the longest-living species was almost 1550 years old.
EndNote
So, here we have come to an end of our list that showed you 12 creatures that lived a huge life on this planet Earth. Human beings can only crave for such a long life while the above-mentioned animals nonchalantly live so long. Additionally, there could be a number of reasons behind such a long life of all these animals. Some reasons are known while some still are a deep mystery!
